The official weblog of Texas Baptists Committed -- an organization committed to preserving historic Baptist distinctives within Texas Baptist life.

Friday, June 6, 2014

Fresh expressions . . . of TBC (part 1)

For some time, I've been intrigued and impressed with the work of Fresh Expressions, a movement that began in England, and has been brought to the US by Virginia Baptists. Fresh Expressions encourages creativity and innovation in worship and, generally, "doing church."

Maybe Fresh Expressions was on my mind when I began thinking about a new logo for Texas Baptists Committed (TBC). In recent years, TBC has been faced with the need to develop fresh expressions of its mission and its work.

Why the need? The reasons are varied. Fatigue among Baptists weary of past battles; the presence of generations who view those battles of the 1980s & 1990s as irrelevant to their expression of faith in the 21st century; vast changes in Texas Baptist life; shifts in societal attitudes; drastic changes in communications - all of these have made it necessary for all Baptist entities to be creative and innovative . . . to create fresh expressions.

TBC's major change in recent years has been to shift our focus from the convention level to the church level, because the Southern Baptists of Texas are aggressively and relentlessly targeting Texas Baptist churches for their campaign of misinformation and control.We're also working to encourage today's students and young adults, and to help them find places of leadership; many of them are ready to lead, and we need their fresh expressions to carry forward the cause of Christ, together with historic Baptist principles, for decades to come.

But what about TBC's logo? One logo has served us well for many years. It was right for another day, but now our logo needs a fresh expression . . . with warmer and brighter colors, and a text that proclaims our mission.

So the new logo is a fresh expression of who we are at TBC and what we do. It pictures a cross bathed in a brilliant light, symbolizing Christ, the Light of the world. At the foot of the cross are people, standing together in unity . . . through the Light of the world. The text reads, "tbc . . . standing together for truth and freedom in Christ."

The logo is a fresh expression of who we have been from our beginning. TBC is you . . . and we will continue to stand together for truth and freedom in Christ.